#OscarsSoWhite! Twitter Reacts to the 2016 Oscar Nominations Having No “Colour”

Last year it was #OscarNoms (click here) and this year it is #OscarsSoWhite… either way one thing is for sure and that is the fact that social media can’t help but notice the absence of “colour” on the Oscars nomination list.

This year there have been quite a number of spectacular movies with black actors that have received tons of nominations (and awards) from other platforms. Michael B. Jordan in “Creed”, Will Smith in “Concussion”, Wiz Khalifa’s hit soundtrack for “Fast and Furious 7”, Idris Elba in “Beast of No Nation”, “Straight Out of Compton” are just a couple of examples that have got Twitter riled up.

How the hell did Jennifer Lawrence get nominated for that plain Jane movie Joy huh? Str8 outta Compton was amazingly made and a huge box office, at least it should have produced 3-4 noms.
Idris Elba blew minds in Beast of Nation, accent on point and got rave reviews, that should have gotten bout 2-3 noms but no it wasnt a big budget movie and was entirely handled in Africa.

Lastly how do you freaking give Sly Stallone an award for that simple interpretation of Balboa and not recognize Micheal B. Jordan for that stellar performance. I’m no big fan of his (that OMG he’s the finest black man to have ever lived hype got in the way) but dude gave life to the character in that movie, I almost couldnt believe he’s no real boxer. The only nomination I’m excited bout and he better get it is best actor, Leonardo DiCaprio……..bout time they stopped giving him the fudging stepson treatment.

Totally agree. Seems like Jennifer Lawrence regularly gets nominated even when she does nothing special, but a talented young actor like Michael B Jordan acts his heart out and doesn’t get acknowledged for a truly powerful performance.

As much as I love J-Law in most of what she’s been in, I have to agree with you on that point. Saw “Joy” and it wasn’t a particularly memorable movie (nor was her acting in it)… making me think her nom for that particular role is starting to look suspiciously like brown-nosing on the Academy’s part.

There is still a lot of unspoken racism all around the world and unfortunately these power brokers which make up the “media” are part and parcel of it all, subtly attempting to smother the black race.

All through this week in the London Metro, with all the plenty articles about Bowie, it was the tiniest inset picture they put of him and Iman married for 23 years meanwhile his first wife whom he was married to for only 10 years got a half-page cover. Very subtle racism.

Soo true… They don’t recognise our efforts and achievements and continually try to smother our race. I think the black race will eventually start to progress and evolve when we stop looking for validation from white people. The future of our media is in Africa. If they don’t recognise us or our achievements, eventually they will begin to respect us.

Oscars have along way to go in terms of diversity and race relations I agree…. but just picking movies where black actors put on an “ok performance ” or even ” excellent performance isn’t just enough to start dashing them nominations so they won’t be accused of racism. You have to compare the other movies nominated regardless of their race to the black actors and see they rightfully deserve their nod. For me the problem is that there r not enough opportunity for black actor in Hollywood…..
Ps. The way they keep nominating Jennifer Lawrence for every role she acts in is becoming a joke now! Smh

I don’t get why blacks get so mad about this. The Academy Awards, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Golden Globes etc… Were created to award & honor WHITE talent 1st & foremost. The MAJORITY of America is WHITE. The biggest consumers are WHITE. Blacks (and any other race) are GUESTS on these WHITE WASHED award shows. That’s why we had to create our own awards/channels. Black artists have got to stop turning their nose down on shows like “Soul Train” & “Bet”… Because, they’re OUR award shows. We must support and be proud.
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Asian’s don’t give a f***! You know why? Because, they have their OWN culture. The Asian community is MASSIVE. They have their own pop stars, award shows, Hollywood etc… An Asian person doesn’t need WHITE approval to justify their talents. You rarely hear them complaining about not winning or getting nominated for anything. Why? Because, they know what’s up! They get it. It’s a WHITE dominated industry & market. That’s like a white person going to Japan, and complaining about why he/she isn’t being nominated for such & such… Even though the MAJORITY of talent is ASIAN, the biggest consumers are ASIAN, the academy voters are mostly ASIAN & it’s an ASIA dominated market. I mean, it’s pretty obvious buddy.

Black people let’s move on. Why are we trying to always gain approval from the white man.
Let’s make our own award shows.
The Oscars was created when black people where not respected so is it today that it will happen?
Let’s move on. Stop begging for their approval.

THANK YOU!!!! At this point, I am honestly over it. Racism will never end till we as a people decide to just move past it and appreciate our own. We always seem to be looking to white people for approval and self worth. Heck we fuel their industries and have been doing it for donkeyyyyyy years. Let’s just STOP!!!! Caucasians have created this “you can’t sit with us mentality” “if it’s white it’s right” “members ONLY club” we all need to be CONSCIOUS and stop this sad mentality that will only cause more harm than it already has. We all see it but refuse to look at it and respond to it.rant not over. I have some packing to do. I’ll be back!

How Leo take be your konsain for this marrer? Lol, they’ll probably *finally* give him one this year for buzz, but darn, they did all this black talent dirty. It feels like after Lupita’s black girl magic year, they’re just like ‘what more do you guys want’?

I don’t get why blacks get so mad about this. The Academy Awards, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Golden Globes etc… Were created to award & honor WHITE talent 1st & foremost. The MAJORITY of America is WHITE. The biggest consumers are WHITE. Blacks (and any other race) are GUESTS on these WHITE WASHED award shows. That’s why we had to create our own awards/channels. Black artists have got to stop turning their nose down on shows like “Soul Train” & “Bet”… Because, they’re OUR award shows. We must support and be proud.
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Asian’s don’t care! You know why? Because, they have their OWN culture. The Asian community is MASSIVE. They have their own pop stars, award shows, Hollywood etc… An Asian person doesn’t need WHITE approval to justify their talents. You rarely hear them complaining about not winning or getting nominated for anything. Why? Because, they know what’s up! They get it. It’s a WHITE dominated industry & market. That’s like a white person going to Japan, and complaining about why he/she isn’t being nominated for such & such… Even though the MAJORITY of talent is ASIAN, the biggest consumers are ASIAN, the academy voters are mostly ASIAN & it’s an ASIA dominated market. I mean, it’s pretty obvious buddy.

lots of strong movies this year. competition is stiff as hell.
the best actor in a leading role category is so strong. everybody did a good and totally deserved their nominations.
even best actress in a leading role, all the ladies deserved their nominations except Jennifer Lawrence replace her with emily blunt in sicario. if u haven’t seen sicario pls do.

Michael b. jordan should have been nominated for creed. he was divine in it. I hate boxing movies but creed was so good. sylvester stallon was amazing and he deserves his nomination and he is going to win. did u know sylvester stallon has acted porn in the past.

idris elba wasn’t nominated because beast of no nation was released on netflix so that automatically makes it a tv movie not a movie.

will smith wasnt snubbed. he wasnt nominated and he shouldn’t have been nominated. his acting in concussion was not good. his accent wasnt good.

to me 2015 was a poor year for black people in movies. u cant blame the oscars for not nominating black people.there are no good movies with black actors in the leading roles. straight out of Compton, lets be honest, that movie isn’t oscar worthy. its a good movie but come on, it isn’t oscar worthy.

African Americans get ready, there will be more snubs to come in the future. This is how white ‘liberal’ America responds to your pressure.

Don’t let Obama and black lives fool you.

In other news, Bellaniaja don’t think we haven’t noticed how you guys are Jejely sidestepping all those awkward ‘controversial topics’ like politics and Laura Ikeji nowadays.

These are the topics that earn you respect, (or at least not backing down once begun), even if they make you sweat for a while. Nothing good comes easy.

Then someone will be wondering how and why ‘mbgeke’ Linda continues to soar. Go to her blog and see how she is commenting on real stuff affecting real Nigerians, whilst also informing the diaspora about what is actually happening in (italics) the country, BBOG et al.

Can’t help but notice how you guys backed down since this new administration stepped in.

God bless U!! I remember when BET award nominated Fuze ( whatever) his name is, he didn’t attend instead, he sent out a tweet saying “Thanks BET for recognizing my work but I’d rather be home & watch than accept that award @ d back of the stage. Lmao I cried my eyes out.. That’s exactly what these folks should do as well.

Wait. So black actors should be nominated because they are black? Since when did oscars nominate based on color. We love to play the race card a lot. Its not like they never won oscars before. When Lupita won, the black race was acting like a child that just got ice cream. And I hope you guys know that there isn’t any African-American in beasts of the nation. A great film for me might not be a great film for you. Oscars have parameters. There’s no one on that oscars list who didn’t deserve to be there. They are all good including the black actors too. If as an actor, I didn’t win, then it’s just not my year. So you think they will intentionally sit down to say “ok, no blacks this year!” Smh. these “black actors” should quit whinning and work on their next projects. When you whine about color on little things like these, you are already indirectly acknowledging white supremacy.

”Wait. So black actors should be nominated because they are black?” No, but because they are just as good as their less melanin-endowed counterparts. And I’m pretty sure they would like to ”quit whinning and work on their next projects” if enough of those existed.

My broda, If it was the other way around, I’m sure no one will see it as discrimination. Ghanaians and Nigerians were mad because “beasts of the nation” was being celebrated at their African own awards. Seriously! Idris Elba’s parents are Africans(Seiraleone and Ghanian, got married in Africa, gave birth to Idris in England. The guy proudly came back home to do a totally African film, employed young Ghanaian actors. and celeb Ghanian actors were mad that they recognize the film for an award.
So, Fast forward to 2016, they are mad that a “black” man didn’t get into oscars from that same film. Are you kidding me? You can’t celebrate your own, but waiting for white Oscar to celebrate you. Seriously we are our own problem. Always playing the victim at any slight thing.

I tire o, that’s like me being the only black person in a white company and expecting promotion every year just because I am ‘black’ not because I actually deserve it then cry racism if I don’t get it. Please so many ‘white’ people do get snubbed by the Oscars you know so its not a black thing. This bs outcry had been going on so long that one year black actors got the coveted best actress and actor award simultaneously (Denzel Washington and Halle Berry) for rubbish movies that they should not even have been nominated for, but hey the Oscars just had to appease the ‘black brethren’.

It was a very precious moment to see Viola Davis to be the first Black women to win her award. I guess they said that’s enough we already gave the minority enough. I will be glad when the world stops looking at color and starts looking at the work put forth!

Who watches the boring Oscars anyway, sometimes they nominate movies that will cure insomnia and you wonder what the criteria for winning an oscar is. They tend to snub popular movies, maybe in their minds, those ones are to mainstream and not done properly. i remember when they gave The hurt locker an award over Avatar. I watched The hurt locker after and sleep no gree me

The problem with such hashtags and articles is that they enter into jargons of philosophy and become an absurdity and trend. Just because you saw Straight Out of Compton, Creed and Beasts of No Nation and found it compelling and it got snubbed means Oscars is so white? The number of great films and performances by white people that were snubbed is countless. Sarah Silverman for her outstanding role in I Smile Back, Maggie for The Lady in the Van, Woman in Gold for lead actress and scripting, Me, Earl and the Dying Girl for writing, direction and picture, and many more films.

Black people feel too entitled. How many good or ambiguous film were made by blacks American this year? Creed? Straight Outta Compton? While debatable on how ambiguous and arty these films are a handful isn’t good enough. I understand the problem of funding but when opportuned blacks, generally, tell whack stories. And saying we should create our own award that awards us is nice but it still doesn’t change the fact that within that glorified award for us, there will be such outcries of segregation. Africans have the class thing going on with them. Nigerians, I digress. As a cinema enthusiast the most open and receptive people I’ve met are white film makers, journalist and what have you. Apart from their love for their arts, they are open minded to exploring new canvass. When I was a film festival “rat” in the states the most arrogant people I came across are black filmmakers who were getting little buzz. Same attitude manifested here in Nigeria when I tried attending festivals. You can’t tell the celebrities nothing, they got following and the mediocre film makers suffer from local champion syndrome. While championing that we award ourselves please make good films for us. Tell our stories and tell it right. All the films I saw in Nigeria cinema last year border from whack to concious posturing of the brilliance of the film makers.

Oscars is what Oscars is and racism is what it is. Oscars honours some of the finest films and it’s makers each year and you can’t take away from them. Black artist need to make good films. Ryan Coogler Creed was beautiful. But just Ryan Coogler isn’t enough. Straight Outta Compton a good film but not fantastic. And Beasts was same story about Africa – well shot, written, acted and directed I admit – however, we should be happy such depiction didn’t gather buzz for Idris. He’s a fine actor. He should get his just due by sinking teeth into a more different role.

And please leave Will Smith (his accent didn’t help matters and he’s never even worked with a black actor and doesn’t push the race card) out of the discussion. Johnny Depp for Blackmoss (he had same accent criticism), Tom Hardy in Legend, the little incredible boy in Room and Agu in Beasts of no Nation are solid frontiers before him. Star power doesn’t equate star performance. I have see all he did before, especially by him. Maybe he needs to rough himself up a bit like Leo did for The Revenant. He plays too safe. Even Meryl Streep gets dirty.

Well if u take a look at d pictures if hashtag u will find out dat they are mostly white people nw its only about recognition but equality.no black person was nominated at all,so wetin una wan tell me be say out of 20 nominations any black person or film no win anytin haba. We dey our own wet dis white people come us commit go American o.dis people jxt av to sincere ,na once in a blue many blue moon black person go get nom. All I can say is nawooooooooooooooo

Oh my God! No Indian nominee? #whitepeoplesoracist ! No Chinese? #Oscarsoracist… Black people please, it’s been 2000 years that we know about racism. We should actually do something about it or shut up and accept it… How many times have you heard Asians cry about racism? And God knows white people don’t like them either… Let’s grow up, shall we?

Its crazy – sick of black people always moaning about this and that – its schools aint supporting black kids – but funny how chinese, indian etc do well in school. One of my good friends told me not to go for a job because they don’t want black people in the good jobs – guess what i went for it – gave it my best shot and – surprise surprise – i got the job – its crazy – he said to me he was looking out for me more like holding me back – always looking for issue where there is none. Always the white mans fault for people not instilling education in children or for parents not working hard to give children a good upbringing.I understand the struggle is real but it is hard for everyone not just black people.

?????????ok! Shit like this Made Viola Davis to give his wonder speech about people of color last year. These Oscar MF’s got jacked up in the head up side down real bad. I just don’t gerrit, Wiz song ain’t there, Will Smith, Idris C’mon now, not again.. Racism @ it’s highest peak.

Well thanks to God they didn’t rub Lupita of hers. Now I know why she’s extremely popular.

@ BN pls respect urself , for this is my first comment this morning and y’all telling me I’m posting comment too fast. Get it toge.